the united nations sets a new date for talks on syria as a conditional ceasefire comes into effect. welcome to al jazeera. also on the show, at least 14 people have been killed in an attack in the somali capital. al jazeera uncovers more evidence uganda's presidential election was not free or fair. the new man elected to head

f.i.f.a. vows to restore in football's governing body. a cessation of hostilities in syria has come into effect. the u.n. security council voted unanimously to back it. the warring sides have agreed to lay down their arms for two weeks. if the deal holds, on staffan de mistura says talks to end the war will resume on march 7. almost 100 rebel factions agreed to cease hostilities, but it doesn't include one of the most powerful armed group al-qaeda-linked al-nusra and i.s.i.l. hours before the deal came into force fighting hadn't stop. the -- james bays has more from

yorke >> reporter: just over 40 minutes before the cessation of hostilities was going to come into account, the u.n. endorsed it unanimously. this was a crucial moment. >> doubted there will be no shortage of attempts to undermine this process. we are ready for it. we should not be impressed, overly concerned. we should address it and realise that this is part of any ceasefire or hostilities. in the hours before the cessation of hostilities came into effect, there was an increase in violence including fresh bombardment by the air force of russia which with the the u.s. was supposed to one of

the main sponsors of this process >> many of the towns being hit by russian bombers are towns like deraya which is being pummelled. a town that is not held by i.s.i.l. or the al-nusra front. it is hard to seem serious and sincere about ceasing hostilities when you ramp-up fighting right up to the minute the cessation of hostilities is to take effect. >> reporter: behind the scenes there was also disagreement between countries that are usually allies. the start of the meeting was delayed after the u.s. changed the text of the draft resolution at the last minute. the new version removed mention of the main opposition block the high negotiations committee. >> the hnc represent az broad sweep of the opposition forces fighting in syria against the tyranny of bashar al-assad. they deserve our wholehearted

support which regrettably was not reflected in this resolution. >> reporter: everyone knows there are bound to be violations of this cessation of hostilities. diplomats tell me the best they can hope for is an lull in the violence and then, perhaps, they can persuade the warring parties to resume those talks in geneva. a new date has been set, 7 march our correspondent joins us live from the syrian border. what's the latest word from the ground? how is it holding together? >> reporter: about two hours from the start of the cessation of hostilities, one of the activists groups said that there were some artillery fired in the homs countryside and a similar incident happened in deraa, but it quickly died off so there was

no clashes after it. it was like two incidents and that's it. then there was calm. people there, activists inside syria, say things seem to be largely holding. in the last hour or so the state television media, syrian tv, said there was a car bomb in the south-east of ham aa that has killed two people and there is heavy ongoing flashes with i.s.i.l. technically that doesn't break the ceasefire because i.s.i.l. was excluded from the ceasefire. another activist group pointed out one interesting fact that so far there are no air raids, particularly russian air raids at the base of an area in latakia. there was no russian jets taking off from that base so things could be heading towards calm how is the ceasefire being

monitored? take us through any sort of process to make sure it doesn't breakdown. >> reporter: the syrian opposition in their statement on friday said that they are going to form a military committee that will monitor how the ceasefire plays out and who violates it. i also remember a senior russian military commander said they will establish a center at the military base in latakia. those are the russians and it will coordinate with the americans and also with the syrian regime and they also said it's quite open to everyone from the opposition to join the committee by consulting with the russians. you also have the united nations monitoring. there are a number of parties monitoring what is happening in

terms of the military activities thank you for that. a suicide attack in ian afghanistan has killed 11 people and injured 40 more. a local police commander is among the dead. our correspondent joins us from kabul. what does the aftermath reveal about this attack? >> reporter: it reveals that the taliban, these insurgent group, are still active in parts of afghanistan and they're going after some significant target. the suicide attack took place a couple of hours ago in a province that sits right next to the border of pakistan. according to police the target of this attack was a very powerful and influential leader of a local militia by the name of han john. so this was a big thing for

insurgence. he was in front of police headquarters this morning along with several bodyguards when a suicide attacker approached on motorbike and detonated his explosives. 11 people killed, 40 people injured. that number could go up in the coming hours. nobody has claimed responsibility for this attack, but the province is an area where the taliban have long fought government forces as well aspro government forces-- as pro-government forces. it happens when they sivent on talks. they say the first round of peace talks will resume within the first week of march. however it's these types of attacks that indicate that at least some factions of the insurgency have no plans to stop fighting thank you for that. at least 14 people have been killed in a suspected al-shabab attack on a hotel in somalia.

police say a car bomb exploded at the entrance of the syl hotel in mogadishu. armed men tried to storm the building but were stopped at the check point. three attackers were killed >> i heard a huge explosion and then a blast shattered the window causing me to lose conscious nts for a what time. then i saw blood coming from my back. it was horrible niger's president has failed to win an outright win. he received 48% of the vote. the second place candidate has been jailed since november. he will now contest the second run off next month. early results from iran's parliamentary election suggests reformists may have an early lead. voting took place on friday to elect members of parliament in the assembly of experts. that is a body which appoints the supreme leader. it is being seen as a test for

reformist president who helped secure iran's nuclear deal last year. >> reporter: the queue of voters stretched around the block. turn out at this election has been high and in the capital at least that should favor the list of moderates and reformists. a former conservative is on that list among a vastly reduced number after thousands were disqualified from taking part. >> translation: definitely the next parliament should reform the law on foreign invest, banking social security and labor laws. in my opinion these need to be modified very fast >> reporter: this mosque serves as a poling station. no order mosque. it was here that the revolutionary spread their message over monarchy over 35 years ago. watch what happens now when a conservative gets there to vote. get to the back of the crew they

cried. reformists and methodists are expected to hold sway in iran. >> i would like to have a better economy, a better life with friendship with all over the world >> reporter: yet conservative support remains strong elsewhere. this was the supreme leader casting his vote. the choices being made here broadly between conservatives and the moderate reformist block could determine whether iran moves towards greater tolerance, openness and much needed economic reform. in a system geared towards the ultimate power of religious conservativism, old think and the status quo remain deeply entrenched. this woman said the u.s. could not be trusted. >> translation: they keep insulting us. we came forward if honesty and negotiated and came to an

agreement. yet they keep threatening us. we are not afraid of threats. >> reporter: this election is a test of the policies of moderate president. he settled the nuclear issue and had sanctions lifted and he is likely to get a show of support for that, but no one is expected a country wide landslide more to come. a vote on island's economy. the president plans a lavish 90-second party during one of the country's worst ever droughts. droughts.

welcome back. reports from syria suggests most fighting has stopped after the start of a temporary truce. it is meant to allow the aid to civilians. parliamentary elections in iran suggests success for reformists. 11 people have been killed in a suicide attack in eastern afghanistan. more than 40 others were wounded in the incident. in k ushunar. ireland is facing deadlock. the poll suggests that the governing body has failed to

secure enough votes to go into another term. our correspondent joins us live from dublin. how are the exit polls shaping up? >> reporter: good morning. the ballot boxeses arrived at the conference center over night just behind me. the long process of vote counting will begin very soon. that is expected to quite a huge task largely because of the system used here, something called the single transferrable vote which allows people to select and rank a variety of different candidates from across the political spectrum in order of prefshs. which means there's a tremendous amount of strategic voting involved in this election. in previous years we have, as you mentioned, seen a coalition government of the center right party and the labor party. judging from the early exit polls that we've seen, it looks

like these political parties have both lost a degree of support which may, of course, make it very difficult indeed to form a stable government on their own. they may, of course, have to look towards independent parties for support. we may not know until early in the week exactly what the future government will look like, but according to some of the figures we've seen this morning, as many of the third of the population have stepped away from those larger traditional parties and gone to the independent parties instead. it looks like the political landscape here is changing somewhat the economic landscape has changed too. how are the people feeling about being on a road to recovery? >> reporter: the economy is something of a national obsession here. it's eight years since the financial crisis, six years since ireland went cap in land

to international lenders to secure a bail out. it was a humiliating time for them and they had been through a celtic tie anger period. the downturn affected people's saving and the gale party, who have been in charge along with the labor party, say they have turned around the economy. today it's one of the fastest growing economies in the european union but not without cut backs to health and policing to name a few. it's because of this that the bigger parties may see themselves punished as a result of that donald trump has received the boost in his bid to win the republican nomination. chris christie is backing the billionaire. christie dropped out of the race a few weeks ago. more from houston. >> reporter: the chris christie

ebb dorsement is a-- endorse is a surprise. chris christie can read the political lay of the land and he realises that donald trump is likely to secure the nomination to be the presidential candidate for the republican party. so getting on board now gives him more power and more influence and more say as the campaign moves forward. also he really dislikes the other candidates. he regards ted cruz and ben carson as not high, but he really regards marco rubio as a light weight, looks good, says all the right thing but has no intellectual depth. as for ted cruz he cease him as an obstruction. that's why he has problems in washington putting people above things to be done. some people are suggesting that chris christie could be an advice presidential candidate. given that he is a political

attack dog, that would seem logical, but if donald trump actually wins the nomination he will need diversity on his ticket and having another angry white man doesn't do that. so chris christie might well be looking at the role of attorney-general. also will chris christie will bring over a lot of supporters. the reason he is out of the race because he doesn't have an awe huge amount of supporters to start with. they might find a natural home in the donald trump camp. this is a big endorsement for donald trump. the most significant and most powerful yet and shows that his campaign team really now have their act together tear gas has been fired inside parliament in kosovo to try and stop the election of a new president. he was elected in the third round after the session was twice disrupted by opposition members. his opponents are critical of his role in an e.u. brokered deal with serbia. the u.n. is expressing concern

at the use of force and arrest following the presidential election in uganda. at least two people were reportedly killed during clashes. more than 200 members of the opposition have been detained, including opposition candidate. the president won 60% of the vote. the opposition disputes the vote with evidence of rigging emerging. >> reporter: he supported the ruling and nr m party for years. she wanted to become a member of parliament that says she lost the party's primaries because they were rigged. she decided to run independently. she says she was cheated of victory against. she showed us these pre-ticked ba ballots. she saw officials putting them in boxes. >> this was not for me but for the opponent and president.

we got out those ballots which were stuffed and i handed them over as an exhibit to the police. >> reporter: when the people voted on 18 february, election observers were strongly critical. the president after 30 years in power was declared winner for another five-year term. the ruling nr m party says the victory was fair and the opposition parties were beaten because they're weak. >> regarding the critiquing, there's no such thing. it never happened. they were always justifying their loss on someone else, especially the nr m >> reporter: in another part of the country this polling station officer said he saw senior polling officials changing results.

>> reporter: security agencies say their role is neutral and they only intervened to keep the peace. near some polling stations in the capital they fired tear gas to disperse angry crowds. such changing of results was not reported officials say >> i never saw that. i have not received that. i thought there were enough ticks in the balance to ensure that nothing was done. >> reporter: meanwhile, opposition leader besigye supporters say he won. he has been detained several time and held at his home or police stations. police say he has not been under arrest but that he wants to cause violent protests. nr m came to power after fighting a civil war that began of a rigged election. the party was seen as a saver.

this woman says things have changed >> if this that has happened elsewhere, they have lost truck. i feel if they lost my brother's fighting for justice, fighting for a better uganda, fighting for a uganda way, i am here, their sister, being treated the way i've been treated in these elections. i'm not happy. i'm not happy with the nr m. >> reporter: malcolm webb bird celebrations are being held for president mobabi. his lavish birth plans have been defended. >> reporter: it is the only

maize this woman has. >> translation: the drought is se severe. we haven't been able to grow anything in the field. the rains haven't come. we have nothing. we will die of hunger. this province is one of the worst affected by drought. across the country people don't have enough to eat. the president has declared a state of disaster. >> reporter: the government says around 3 million people need assistance. aid agencies are already handing out food aid but many families say help hasn't arrived why yet. despite the hardship faced by many families, the president's celebrations are being held in the province here on saturday >> the average income was for 7.5 million people are 7 cents a day. they can't afford the basics of life. to throw a celebration for a 92

year old who is clearly no longer in full control of the state is just bizarre. it sends completely the wrong signal to the international community. >> we are celebrating the life of a person that has brought so much good to his country. these problems are not unique to zimbabwe. drought is in africa. drought is big. are they not celebrating the lives of their hero. >> reporter: he only lives away from where the celebrations are taking place. >> watch your face. >> reporter: she says she is not attending. she has more immediate concerns like making sure the children have something to eat

the new president of f.i.f.a. is promising to restore trust in the world governing body of football. he describes his election as a new era for the support following the corruption and controversy of f.i.f.a. executives. the 45 year old fighted off a challenge from many. he is swiss lawyer turned sports begin straighter. he on-- administrator. he held various positions before working his what way up to secretary general in october 2009. his boss was michel platini together with sep blatter for corruption. >> reporter: chosen by f.i.f.a.

as the man to lead them into a new cleaner future, gianni infantino. the swiss was only standing for f.i.f.a. president because his boss michel platini was banned due to corruption. he won with a majority 115 votes to 88 in the first vote to go to a second round for over 40 years. it was that tense. >> we will restore the image of f.i.f.a. and the respect of f.i.f.a. and everyone in the world will applaud us and we will applaud all of you for what we will do in f.i.f.a. in the future. we have to be proud of f.i.f.a. and everyone has to be proud of f.i.f.a. and we have to be proud of what we will do together. >> reporter: an extraordinary rise to the biggest job in football for the man who was secretary general of ua if fa.

he has a huge job to fix the organization. his pledge of 5 million dollars per federation races questions about how a corporation 550 million dollars under budget for the year can afford it. the asian confederation chief who thought he had more than enough votes. some of his pledges didn't come through. some african delegates broke ranks and defied the federation's directive to vote for him. if he had been elected, questions over his human rights record may have left another shadow over f.i.f.a. it can barely afford. 207 national representatives came to zurich knowing it was crucial they got this right and pushed through the reforms the organization desperately needed. 89% of them agreed to do so. they hope it will be enough to

satisfy the u.s. around swiss authorities who wanted f.i.f.a. radically over hauled. after the glory, he will need to work tyrelessly to convince the world his new f.i.f.a. can be trusted. lee wellings. >> welcome to "america tonight." i'm sheila macvicar. joie chen is on assignment. it is the faces of refugees fleeing violence in syria or the butchering of the islamic state group in iraq that has captured much of the world's attention this year. but there are others fleeing poverty or lesser known wars who